Zgornja Šiška (; german: Oberschischka''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 112.) is a formerly independent settlement in the northwest part of the capital

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

in central

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 343–344. It is part of the traditional region of

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

and is now included with the rest of the municipality in the

Central Slovenia Statistical Region The Central Slovenia Statistical Region ( sl, Osrednjeslovenska statistična regija) is a statistical region in central Slovenia. Geography This is the second-largest region in terms of territory. It has a total area of 2,555 km², with a ...

Name

The name ''Zgornja Šiška'' literally means 'upper Šiška', distinguishing the settlement from neighboring

Spodnja Šiška Spodnja Šiška (; german: Unterschischka''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 112.) is a formerly independent settlement in the northwest ...

(literally, 'lower Šiška'). The name ''Šiška'' was attested in 1308 as ''ze Cheis'' (and as ''Cheysse'' in 1330 and ''pey Keysk'' in 1331). The name is derived from ''*Hiška'', a diminutive of the common noun ''hiša'' 'house'. The phonological change of ''H-'' > ''Š-'' may be due to Upper Carniolan palatalization, discontinuous assimilation, or both. The semantic motivation of the name is attributed to a single small house that originally stood in the settlement. In the past the German name was ''Oberschischka''.

History

A Roman aqueduct passed through Zgornja Šiška to supply

Emona Emona (early gkm, Ἤμονα) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Ljubljanica river came closest to Castle Hill,

. The name ''Jama'' 'pit' was attested for Zgornja Šiška in 1414, referring to pits and tunnels in the area. During the

Ottoman wars in Europe A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

, these pits were used to besiege Ljubljana in 1472. A school was established in Zgornja Šiška in 1882, and a four-year lower secondary school was established in 1929. Zgornja Šiška was annexed by the City of Ljubljana in 1935, ending its existence as an independent settlement.

Castle

The pits in Zgornja Šiška were also the source of the name of Pit Castle ( sl, Grad Jama), also known as the Galle Manor (). The manor was the property of the governors of Carniola, and was then owned by the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

order until 1657, which then built a monastery in Ljubljana and sold the property to Johann Benaglia. It stood adjacent to another manor known as the Luckmann Castle (). This was owned by the Apfaltrer family and then inherited by the Luckmann family. The two structures were combined in 1787. After the First World War, it was acquired by the Ursuline order and then by the School Sisters of St. Francis of Christ the King. The building was confiscated and nationalized after the Second World War, the nuns were expelled, and it was used to train police dogs. Following various medical uses and renovations, the structure is now the Peter Držaj Hospital ().

Notable people

Notable people from Zgornja Šiška include: * Brane Dolinar (a.k.a. Brane Demšar, 1928–2000), writer, author of radio plays * Anton Rojina (1877–1958), industrialist"Anton Rojina." ''Slovenski biografski leksikon.''
*

Valentin Vodnik Valentin Vodnik (3 February 1758 – 8 January 1819) was a Carniolan priest, journalist and poet of Slovene descent. He was active in the late Enlightenment period. He is well known for his contributions in writing materials that lifted the p ...

(1758–1819), priest, journalist, and poet

References

External links

*
Zgornja Šiška on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zgornja Siska Šiška District Localities of Ljubljana